A federal judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit brought by a student association for Minnesota’s public two-year colleges seeking to challenge the Minnesota State Board of Trustees over a rejected student fee increase.

The final dismissal comes more than two years after the student group LeadMN filed a lawsuit accusing the board of turning down a proposed fee increase, which would have helped the group to double its staff to boost fundraising and advocacy efforts at Minnesota’s 26 state colleges.

Under the proposal, fees would have increased from 35 cents per credit to 61 cents. LeadMN filed a lawsuit in March 2022 claiming the board turned down the increase the year before.

In November 2022, a federal judge tossed all but one of the claims brought by the group. The remaining claim sustained by the court was LeadMN’s contention that the board of trustees had refused to approve the proposed fee increase in retaliation for the group’s advocacy, which had sometimes brought them into conflict with the board.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Jerry W. Blackwell dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice, meaning LeadMN can’t bring the case back to court.